News Links: The debate will be televised after all

Stagehands prepare the stage for the first presidential campaign debate tonight.

- After much uncertainty, John McCain announced he will attend tonight’s first presidential debate in Oxford, Miss. The event will be broadcast across nine television stations at 8 p.m. CST. {Houston Chronicle}

- President Bush expressed optimism Friday morning that Congress will soon reach a bipartisan agreement on the $700 billion financial rescue package. House Republicans have thus far been wary of signing onto the proposal. {Washington Post}

- The president will also meet with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to discuss the global financial turmoil making waves on both countries’ shores. {Waco Tribune-Herald}

- Federal regulators seized control of Washington Mutual Thursday, selling the bank’s operations to J.P. Morgan Chase for $1.9 billion. It marks the largest bank failure in U.S. history. {Wall Street Journal}

- Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said Thursday she will not seek re-election to her Senate seat in 2012. She will instead form an an exploratory committee to mull over the possibility of making a run for governor in 2010. {San Antonio Express-News}

- Following the fifth suicide of Houston Army recruiters, Texas Sen. John Cornyn and veterans’ advocates are calling for a closer look into the emotionally and physically demanding life of a military recruiter. {Houston Chronicle}

- Carbon dioxide emissions are accelerating, according to a new report released by scientists with the Global Carbon Project. The report also found that more than half of global emissions are produced by developing countries. {New York Times}

- Quantrix, a Portland-based company, has now made a new tool available online that calculates what voters might pay in taxes under each of the presidential candidates’ tax plans. {El Paso Times}